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The Super Cops
The story of the real cops called Batman and Robin.
359 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 17, 2020
So I'm going to start off this review by saying that I don't believe a word of this book, in terms of it being a "true story." What's that, you say? It says so right on the cover that it's a true story. But I don't believe a word of it (more on that later).
This was the basis for a film of the same name, that I caught the opening of on TCM a few months back (I was too sleepy to stay up for the whole thing, which I regret because it looked like a film I'd like, set in the kooky NYC of the late Sixties and early Seventies). I found this at a thrift store a couple of weekends back, and figured it could be fun to read. And it totally is.
But here's the thing: the two guys profiled here (Dave Greenberg and Bob Hantz) have a criminal record, especially Greenberg. In the book they're portrayed as your basic straight-arrow cops, with some character quirks that make them "super cops" determined to bust as many drug dealers as possible. And I'm sure that they were, but this book is based on their perspective and some of the events in the book (according to the Wikipedia article about the book and film) are questionable in terms of accuracy. So my advice: proceed with caution.
This is an example of "New Journalism," where the author (L.H. Whittemore) re-creates events to dramatize them and make the narrative more compelling. And that's often entertaining, but like Tom Wolfe, Whittemore might not be entirely truthful here in his depiction of what happened. If you decide to proceed with some skepticism and read it as just a "novel" perhaps, you won't feel strongly about whether it's true or not. I personally found some of the scenes depicted to be laughable (the encounter with a hoodlum "picking his teeth with a large knife" seems cut from a lurid, racist potboiler full of stereotypes about "the ghetto"), and I don't think these guys were quite as upright as they made themselves out to be (to be fair, there's a section where they're clearly using young women for their apartments, it's left unsaid but I'm guessing there were some shenanigans that might have gone on). But if you accept from the outset that this book will likely be complete bullshit, you can find it very *entertaining* bullshit. But bullshit nonetheless.
One sidenote: I feel like this (and "Serpico") might be the basis for Mike Peralta's favorite book (he's the main character on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"). It and the subsequent film are almost certainly one of the templates for the buddy-cop film genre.
This was the basis for a film of the same name, that I caught the opening of on TCM a few months back (I was too sleepy to stay up for the whole thing, which I regret because it looked like a film I'd like, set in the kooky NYC of the late Sixties and early Seventies). I found this at a thrift store a couple of weekends back, and figured it could be fun to read. And it totally is.
But here's the thing: the two guys profiled here (Dave Greenberg and Bob Hantz) have a criminal record, especially Greenberg. In the book they're portrayed as your basic straight-arrow cops, with some character quirks that make them "super cops" determined to bust as many drug dealers as possible. And I'm sure that they were, but this book is based on their perspective and some of the events in the book (according to the Wikipedia article about the book and film) are questionable in terms of accuracy. So my advice: proceed with caution.
This is an example of "New Journalism," where the author (L.H. Whittemore) re-creates events to dramatize them and make the narrative more compelling. And that's often entertaining, but like Tom Wolfe, Whittemore might not be entirely truthful here in his depiction of what happened. If you decide to proceed with some skepticism and read it as just a "novel" perhaps, you won't feel strongly about whether it's true or not. I personally found some of the scenes depicted to be laughable (the encounter with a hoodlum "picking his teeth with a large knife" seems cut from a lurid, racist potboiler full of stereotypes about "the ghetto"), and I don't think these guys were quite as upright as they made themselves out to be (to be fair, there's a section where they're clearly using young women for their apartments, it's left unsaid but I'm guessing there were some shenanigans that might have gone on). But if you accept from the outset that this book will likely be complete bullshit, you can find it very *entertaining* bullshit. But bullshit nonetheless.
One sidenote: I feel like this (and "Serpico") might be the basis for Mike Peralta's favorite book (he's the main character on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"). It and the subsequent film are almost certainly one of the templates for the buddy-cop film genre.
May 12, 2013
Flashy and fun, probably a little dated now, this book tells the true story of two New York cops Dave Greenburg and Bob Hantz whose arrests were so spectacular they were nicknamed Batman and Robin. There are some very serious scenes, and some violence, but this book is very enjoyable. I was fortunate enough to meet Greenburg and Hantz a couple of times, and they were every bit as cool as portrayed in this book.
January 4, 2016
True story? Not so much. I always suspected that the book is more about their self-image than reality. I wasn't surprised to discover that Greenberg ended up in jail a couple of times for insurance fraud.
Haven't read it myself, but "They Wish They Were Honest," by Michael Armstrong apparently has a bit on these guys. They don't come off very well.
Still, I'll always have to appreciate them for being the inspiration for the TV show Starsky and Hutch.
Haven't read it myself, but "They Wish They Were Honest," by Michael Armstrong apparently has a bit on these guys. They don't come off very well.
Still, I'll always have to appreciate them for being the inspiration for the TV show Starsky and Hutch.
June 1, 2013
I remember reading this and enjoying it as a teenager. I doubt the stories are completely true, but they made enjoyable reading for me then.
June 1, 2017
Yes, the start and finish dates are reasonably correct. It took a long time. But I finished it! I also enjoyed it.
February 12, 2018
This is a great police book, my favorite one in fact!
August 20, 2016
A good read about an amazing true story. Traces the exploits of 2 rookie NYC cops in the late 1960s who decided traffic patrol was too boring and started setting up their own drug busts instead, and went on to many other adventures besides. A great illustration of the principle espoused by Grace Hopper, that it is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
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April 10, 2015I want to read it to remember the days when I read it first, really liked the candid attitude.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews